Our family keeps a year's worth of expenses (not income) put aside in cash reserves; it provides financial insurance with the side benefits of lower stress and less concern about stock market gyrations. In my opinion, emergency funds can actually … [Read the rest]
Lowe’s $10 off $50 Coupon Code
Posted on April 12, 2015 // 1 Comment
Updated with new coupon. As a homeowner, unfortunately there's always a use for these... Lowe's has a new $10 off $50 coupon available to everyone if you sign up for their promotional e-mails. You can use a secondary e-mail or simply unsubscribe … [Read the rest]
Wealthfront Offers Tax Loss Harvesting With No Minimums
Posted on April 7, 2015 // 9 Comments
Automated portfolio managers like Wealthfront will set you up with a diversified mix of index funds and manage it for you for a small fee. I'm an investing geek, so I always lean towards keeping the small fee and manage things myself. But an … [Read the rest]
Betterment Offers Tax Loss Harvesting With No Minimums
Posted on April 7, 2015 // 9 Comments
Automated portfolio managers like Betterment will set you up with a diversified mix of index funds and manage it for you for a small fee. I'm an investing geek, so I always lean towards keeping the small fee and manage things myself. But an … [Read the rest]
ComputerShare and Company-Specific DRIP Plans: Still A Good Option in 2015?
Posted on April 2, 2015 // 18 Comments
Here's a reader question that arrived this week: I know you write a lot about investing, but can you write a little more about ComputerShare as a way to save money vs buying stock with online brokerages. I just read in WSJ how its cheaper if you … [Read the rest]
NAPFA: Warnings When Finding a Financial Advisor
Posted on March 31, 2015 // Leave a Comment
Many people feel more comfortable with someone else helping them with their finances. A common piece of advice these days is to find a fee-only advisor that doesn't work on commission. Many times this leads to a recommendation of the National … [Read the rest]
Portfolio Rebalancing Frequency: Even Less Than Annually?
Posted on March 31, 2015 // 18 Comments
Here's another data point on the debate on how often to rebalance your portfolio to your target asset allocation. Econompic Data writes about rebalancing a portfolio back to 60% S&P 500 / 40% Barclays Aggregate Bond index from 1976-2014 and finds … [Read the rest]
The Only Two States of Your Portfolio: Happy All-Time High or Sad Drawdown
Posted on March 29, 2015 // 8 Comments
Quick question - What was the highest value ever for your investment portfolio? Now, what was the value exactly a year before that? You probably know the answer to the first question, but not the second, even though both have little to do with … [Read the rest]
The Affluent Investor by Phil DeMuth – Book for $100,000+ Club
Posted on March 25, 2015 // 6 Comments
This week I've been trying to catch up on my book reviews (you should see my "to read" shelf!), and after a good beginner book I thought I'd write about a good intermediate-to-advanced book. You've probably noticed there are a lot of starter books … [Read the rest]
Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Bond Fund Review (VWEHX)
Posted on March 24, 2015 // 6 Comments
The Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Bond Fund (VWEHX, VWEAX) is a low-cost, actively-managed bond fund that invests in medium- and lower-quality corporate bonds and is advised by Wellington Management Company. I don't own any in my retirement … [Read the rest]
Book Review: The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael Lewis
Posted on March 24, 2015 // 1 Comment
Somehow I picked up a copy of The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story, which is a Michael Lewis bestseller published back in 1999 about the internet boom. The central character is Jim Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics (SGI), Netscape, and … [Read the rest]
The Elements of Investing – Book Review (Updated Edition)
Posted on March 23, 2015 // 1 Comment
There are two major types of investing books for beginner investors: "Instructional to-do list" books basically tell you what you should do. "Inspirational big-picture" focus more on the philosophical reasons why you should do those things. Both … [Read the rest]
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